Falmouth prepares to tackle major wastewater issues

After years of planning and debate, Falmouth town meeting in April will decide on several major water and wastewater projects, as well as how to pay for the nearly $100 million worth of work.

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By PATRICK CASSIDY

capecodtimes.com

By PATRICK CASSIDY

Posted Mar. 24, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By PATRICK CASSIDY

Posted Mar. 24, 2014 at 2:00 AM

Major articles

Article 26 - $46.5 million for design and construction of water treatment system/water filtration plant. There is no tax increase associated with the project as it would be covered by exist...

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Major articles

Article 26 - $46.5 million for design and construction of water treatment system/water filtration plant. There is no tax increase associated with the project as it would be covered by existing debt. Half of the project would be paid through water rates.

Article 27 - Determines what portion of sewer construction project around Little Pond would be paid through betterment and which portion would be placed on tax levy.

Article 28 - $49.8 million for Little Pond project, wastewater treatment plant improvements, a discharge site, the widening of the inlet to Bournes Pond and an infiltration/inflow project in Woods Hole. Both articles 26 and 28 would require approval at the ballot box.

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FALMOUTH — After years of planning and debate, Falmouth town meeting in April will decide on several major water and wastewater projects, as well as how to pay for the nearly $100 million worth of work.

But during a forum Sunday at Falmouth Public Library the discussion about potential alternatives continued despite a general agreement that deteriorating water quality in local bays and ponds from excess nitrogen and phosphorus remains a problem.

"The plan is to try to fix all of Falmouth's water with a combination of these methods," Earle Barnhart of The Green Center Inc. said about partial sewering, inlet widening, aquaculture and other less traditional strategies for controlling the amount of nutrients in Falmouth's water.

There are several articles on the April 7 town meeting warrant and the April 8 special town meeting warrant that deal with water quality problems in Falmouth.

The priciest decisions are contained in town meeting articles 26, 27 and 28.

Article 26 asks voters to approve spending $46.5 million for the design and construction of a water treatment system to alleviate "repeated water quality problems" experienced by municipal water customers, according to the warrant. Water rates would be used to fund half the cost and half would go on the tax levy, although within the limit of debt drop-off, eliminating the need to raise taxes.

Article 27 asks town meeting to decide on a betterment to pay for building a sewer collection system for the Little Pond service area. Selectmen have recommended that 70 percent of the $41 million project be paid through betterments and 30 percent be placed on the tax levy, which, like Article 26, would not require an increase in taxes.

Article 28 asks town meeting to authorize spending the money for the Little Pond sewer system, as well as funding for other projects under the town's Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan, including improvements to the town's treatment plant, a discharge site, widening the inlet to Bournes Pond and an infiltration and inflow project in Woods Hole. The total amount appropriated would be $49.8 million.

Although the exact cost has not been fixed it is currently estimated at about $25,625 per household, said Ron Zweig, a member of the Water Quality Management Committee.

The cost — split between the betterment and tax levy — will depend on whether the town receives a zero or 2 percent interest loan through the state as well the payback period, Zweig said. The total cost includes $5.5 million for a contingency fund, he said.

"There are a number of unknowns," he said.

Additional costs include $3,500-$4,000 to hook up to the system although there is a loan program through the county that homeowners can apply for to pay that over 20 years as well as tax credits and deferrals of payment for older residents, Zweig said.

On the positive side, the town's flow neutral bylaw allows for the possibility of increasing the number of bedrooms on a property as well as the amount of flow from businesses in the affected area, he said.

"This is the sweetener," he said.

Funding for design work on the various projects has already received approval from past town meetings but so has funding to examine alternatives such as the use of aquaculture and eco-toilets, which separate urine as a means of reducing the amount of phosphorous that flows into groundwater.

An aquaculture demonstration project in Little Pond has yielded positive results, Zweig said. Neighbors on the pond have reported anecdotal evidence that the water is cleaner with no smells or fish kills as has occurred in the past, he said.

Empirical evidence has also shown a modest improvement in water quality even though it is only the project's first year, Zweig said. In addition to cleaning the water the project has economic potential in the sale of the oysters and the jobs created, he said.

While some of the 40 people at the forum focused on the potential for oysters and eco-toilets to do the job previously done by traditional centralized sewers, others cautioned that the alternatives are not yet approved by regulators and face social hurdles as well.

In 2011, Falmouth approved spending $500,000 on an eco-toilet demonstration project but so far the town hasn't filled the 15 slots under the pilot program, said Gerald Potamis, wastewater superintendent for the Falmouth Wastewater Department.

Not enough is known about the toxins that might be taken up by oysters and the cost of the sewer system is about the same as if the cost of buying and maintaining a septic system was amortized over time, he said.

"I want to bring things a little back to reality," he said.

But Marc Finneran, who is running for selectmen, joined others in calling for people to wait to see the effect of the nontraditional methods.

"If it turns out three years from now we can spend one-third less I don't see why we wouldn't give it that time," he said. "For us not to follow our own advice just doesn't seem right to me and I think this could be put off."

Doug Brown of Falmouth Water Stewards, a nonprofit group that seeks to protect the town's water bodies, said that every time the town gets sidelined by a discussion over costs and puts off sewering, the price rises.

"We have a great plan," he said. "This plan allows for all the alternatives."